Machine for sewing shoes



(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. EPPLER, Jr. MAGHINE FOR SEWING SHOES.

No. 593,156. Patented Nov. 2, 1897.

' lNvEN'rn Piaf y (No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. EPPLER, J1-. MACHINE FOR SEWING SHOES. No. 593,156. Pd Nov. 2,1897.

(No Model.) a Sheets-Sheet s.

A. EPPLER, Jr. MACHINE FOR SEWING SHOES. No. 593,156 Patented Nov. 2,1897.

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Patented Nov. 2 1897.

WITNESSES:

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. A. EPPLER, Jr.

MACHINE FOR SEWING SHOES.

NO. 593,156. Patented Nov. 2 1897.-

Wrmsssas: INVEINTEI J3? WW M iifi J 1 Jr. NG SHO 'Pate (No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 6.

A. EPPLER MACHINE FOR SEWI M No. 593,156;

nted Nov. 2,1897.

r I/f ////I IIII//IIIIIIII/ 43v 0 yaw Tm: mus PETEIS co Pmuma. wAsnmn UNITED STATES PATENT @FFEQF..

ANDREW EPPLER, JR., OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR SEWING SHOES.

srncrrrcarro v forming part of Letters FatentNo. 593,156, dated November '2, 1897.

Application filed April 30, 1897.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ANDREW EPPLER, Jr. of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boot or Shoe Sewing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of curvedneedle boot and shoe sewing machines in which the work is supported by a channelguide and fed by a lateral movement of the awl.

The invention has for its object to provide a simple and efficient machine of this class adapted to form a tight seam and to stitch with equal case and efficiency around an abrupt curve, such as is found in sharplypointed toes, as along a practically straight surface.

The invention consists, first, in certain improvements in the relative arrangement of the awl, needle, channel-guide, and back gage, and, secondly, in certain improvements relating to the looper-operating mechanism, all of which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a boot or shoe sewing machine embodying my improvements. Figs. 2 and 3 represent portions of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1, illustrating different positions of the needle, awl, and looper. Fig. 4 represents a front elevation of the machine.- Figs. 5, 6, and 7- represent views illustrating different parts of the stitch-forming operation. Fig. 7'represents the channel-guide, awl, and needle in their relative positions at one portion of the stitch-forming operation. Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view representing the paths of movement of the awl and needle. Fig. 9 is an elevation of a portion of the machine from the side opposite that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 10 represents a section on line 1O 10 of Fig. .9. Fig. 11 represents a side view of the looper and its operating mechanism. Fig. 12 represents a front view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 11. Fig. 13 is a top view of the wax-pot. Fig. 14 is a section on line 14' 14 of Fig. 13.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, (it represents the support- Serial No. 634,686. (No model.)

h, Fig. 9, which is held by the pressure of a' spring 2' against an inclined rib or flange j on a vertically-reciprocating slide it. Said slide, which is fitted to move between vertical guides or ways on the frame a, is normally raised by a spring m and depressed by a cam 71 on the driving-shaft c, said cam bearing on a trundle-roll 0 on the upper end of the slide it.

13 represents the curved awl, which is attached to one end of a lever p, thelatter having two arms or branches on which are sockets or hubs 13 13 one of which is fitted to oscillate on the hub f of the back-gage lever.

and the other on the hollow stud as shown in Figs. 4, 9, and 10, the awl-lever being thus adapted to oscillate on said stud g.

The awl-lever p is provided with a slot which receives a slide-block q, Fig. 9, which is pivoted to a slide '1', adapted to slide vertically between suitable fixed guides on the frame a, and is provided at its upper end with a trundle-roll s, which enters a cam-groove (not shown) in the back of a disk 25 on the driving-shaft. The downward movement of the slide it causes the inclined rib j thereon to permit the back gage to move away from the fixed channel-guide I) under the influence of spring '21, while the upward movement of said slide, caused by the spring m, moves the back gage toward the fixed channel-guide, said spring enabling the slide to be stopped in its upward movement by the contact of the back gage with the shoe-upper. The downward movement of the slide r moves the awllever 19 to throw the awl forward in thefarc turn to its starting position, and to this end said levers are moved on said stud 111 the direction required to give the awl its work-feeding movement by a lever u, Figs. 4 and 9,

pivoted at v to the frame a, and a cam w on the driving-shaftbearing on a trundle-roll 00 on said lever u,,the latter having at its lower end an adjustable stud y, bearing on a cap f secured upon the hub f on the back-gage lever. The said awl and back-gage levers are moved in the opposite direction when permitted by the recession of the cam 20 by a spring-plunger c, Fig. 10, which is fitted to gaged at one end with said cam, a lever E pivoted at E to the frame and connected by a link E with the lever E, and a link F, connecting said lever E with the needle arm or lever B.

It will be observed by reference to the drawings that the needle and channel-guide are located at opposite sides of the work or between substance, and that the awl is located at the same side of the work with the needle. The awl is arranged so that when it moves forward topenetrate the work it is at one side of the'channel-guide and out of the path of the needle. The work-feeding movement of the awl is such that at the end of the feeding movement the awl is in the path of the needle and at the opposite side of the channelguide from the startin g-poin t. This arrangement of the awl, whereby it is caused to penetrate the work at one side of the channelguide and leave the Work at the opposite side, enables the work to be turned freely during the stitching operation without sacrificing the tightness of the stitch, so that the machine is adapted to form a tight seam around the toe portions of pointed or abruptly-curved boots and shoes. By reference to Figs. 5, 6, and 8 it Will be seen that the awl moves in a circle having a much greater radius than that of the needle, and that the awl when in its forward feed position is in the path of the needle and when retracted is out of said path.

N represents the looper, which is affixed to one arm of a lever N, the looper being located on the same side of the work with the channel-guide. The lever N is mounted to oscillate, as indicated by full and dotted lines in Fig. 12, on a stud N which is affixed to an ear N on a slide N Said slide is fitted to move horizontally on a guide N affixed to the frame of the machine, the slide being movable in a path at right angles to the plane in which the lever N oscillates on the stud N as indicated by full and dotted lines in Fig. 11, so that the lever and looper are given a substantially horizontal forward-and-back movement. The upper armof the lever N carries a trundle-roll N which engages a cam-groove N in one side of a disk affixed to the driving-shaft c, said cam-groove being formed to impart to the lever and the looper the oscillating movements indicated in Fig. 12. The slide N carries a trundle-roll N which engages a cam-groove N in the periphcry of the said disk, the said cam-groove being formed to impart to the slide and to the lever N and the looper N the reciprocating movements indicated in Fig. 11. The movements thus imparted to the looper give it an orbital motion around the needle, the looper traveling in a helical path which is slightly inclined from a horizontal plane, so that the looper has no tendency to strike a downward blow upon the work.

It will beseen that the slide N movable in a fixed guide and provided with a stud or trundle-roll, and the lever N, pivoted to said slide, having on one arm a looper and on the other arm another stud or trundle-roll, are adapted to be operated by a single cam disk having two cam-grooves, one engaging the stud on the slide and the other the stud on the looper. My improved looper-operating mechanism is therefore very simple and compact, occupying but little room. on the ma chine.

0 represents the wax-pot, which is provided with a guide 0', through which the thread passes. The wax-pot is located over a chamber 0 which is heated by steam or other suitable agent, which melts the wax in the pot O. O is a wax-reservoir which communicates through a narrow passage 0 with the lower portion of the wax-pot O and is offset from the heating-chamber 0 the reservoir being separated from the wax pot and from its heater 0 by an air-space, as shown in Figs. 13 and 14. The object of this construction is to keep the main accumulation of wax away from the action of the heat, so that only such quantity of wax will be melted as is required for immediate consumption, the mass of Wax in the chamber 0 excepting that immediately adjacent to the passage 0 being unaffected by the heat. As fast as the melted Wax in the wax-pot is consumed a suflicient supply enters the lower portion of the waxpot through the passage 0. I have found that a mass of wax subjected to long-continued heat or heated repeatedly becomes hard and brittle. This difficulty is avoided by providing the wax-pot with a connected reservoir in which only a small quantity of the wax can be acted on by the heat, which melts the wax in the wax-pot proper.

The foregoing description includes all the features of novelty of the machine illustrated in the drawings, and as all other features of the machine as illustrated in the drawings that in Letters Patent No. 447,872,.dated March '10, 1891, a machine is fully shown and described which differs from the machine here shown only in the relative arrangement of the awl, needle, channel-guide, looper, and back gage, the looper-operating mechanism and the Wax-pot.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The awl in advancing penetrates the material at the opposite side of the channel-guide from the stitch last set and then moves laterally across the channel-guide into the path of the needle, the latter being retracted. The back gage moves forward and laterally with the awl. The awl is then withdrawn, the back gage remaining in its projected position. The needle then advances and enters the perforation made by the awl. After the needle has entered the material the back gage is retracted, the back gage and awl then moving laterally back to their starting position. The looper is then operated and moves around the needle about one and a half turns to wrap the thread securely around the needle, so that it will not be liable to pull off during the operation of setting the stitch. The needle is then retracted, and while it is retreating the loope'r moves laterally toward the left of the operator and stands practically in a line with the needle while the stitch is being set by the backward movement of the needle. While the needle is setting the stitch the back gage and awl again move forward, the awl penetrating the work, as before.

By feeding the work by a movement of the awl across the channel-guide (the feed movement of the awl commencing at one side or end of the channel-guide and terminating at the other end) I am enabled to stitch much more satisfactorily and easily around a sharp toe than would be possible if the movement of the feeding instrument were away from the channel-guidet'. e., commencing at or near one end of the channel-guide and terminating at a point farther from the channel-guide than the point of beginning.

13 y oscillating the needle in an unvarying path and giving the awl a feed movement which leaves it in the path of the needle, the

said path being close to a channel-guide which is located at the opposite side of the work,-I am enabled to turn the shoe on the channel-guide without materially increasing the strain on the thread, thus preventing liability of breaking the thread when turning the work, which liability always exists when the work is fed away from the channel-guide, so that the distance between the needle and the work is increased by the turning movement of the work.

arranged to coincide with the path of the needle when the said awl reaches the end of its feed movement, and suitable complemental parts cooperating with said awl, needle, and channel-guide.

2. A sewing-machine of the character specified, comprising an awl, a needle, and a back gage located at one side of the material, and

a channel-guide and looper located at the opposite side of the material, the awl being movable independently of the needle and arranged to feed the work while the needle is retracted.

3. A sewing-machine of the character speci- -fied, comprising a curved needle moving in an unvarying path, an awl having a lateral work-feeding movement, a back gage movable laterally with the awl to support the work while it is being fed, said parts being located at one side of the work, and a channel-guide located at the opposite side of the work, the lateral movement of the awl and back gage being across the channel-guide, or from side to side thereof.

4. In a sewing-machine of the character specified, the combination with suitable complemental stitch-forming parts, including a curved needle, of a looper, a slide movable horizontally toward and from the front of the machine and provided with a stud or trundle-roll, a lever mounted to oscillate on said slide in a plane at right angles to the path of movement of the slide, and having an arm projecting below the slide and provided with a looper, and an arm projecting above the slide and provided witha stud or trundle-roll, and a cam disk or plate having a cam-groove engaged with the stud on the slide and another cam-groove engaged with the stud on the lever, whereby the slide is reciprocated and the leveroscillated, all of said movements being positive.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 14th day of April, A. D. 1897.

ANDREW EPPLER, JR.

Witnesses:

A. D. HARRISON, P. WV. Pnzzn'r'rr. 

